Reflection 1/14/17 Sailing – Live Blog, Photo Blog, Cat Blog?

[David Kane]

Good Morning!

 

So, as last reported, we were up and early in Brickell and getting ready to embark from downtown to the Port of Miami.

 

--The $8/person shuttle from Brickell is, perhaps, the best value of the trip so far. We jumped on the shuttle scheduled for 11am and by 11:02 we were off. It took 17 minutes (and two friendly Canadians popping Michelob Ultras next to us) to reach the port of Miami and, yes, indeed "..all of hell is empty, and the devils are here..."

--MY GOD the Port of Miami. There were 4 ships in port, Carnival 1, Carnival 2, MSC and the Reflection and the Reflection was last in line. This is not a complaint, I'm on vacation and therefore didn't have to drive, but it took 35 minutes of knife-fightingly bad traffic to reach the Reflection. Our driver was amazing, if only for his calm. SO, after 35 minutes, we were dispensed to the Celebrity dock ($16 Total, $25 given because his navigation skills were amazing).

 

 

Embarkation:

--A porter immediately introduced himself and, note to people who hate to tip, TIP THE PORTERS. $20 given and, let me tell you, our bags were first on the ship - but more on that later.

--On the way to the line, some lovely couple asked us if we were "the cat people" and yes, as of now, my wife and now my cat are far better known than I am! Also, if this couple is reading this, we totally forgot your names but please send us a message in room 2109 so we can hang out.

--So, 17 minutes to the port, 35 minutes at the Port and now, suddenly, it's time for our first Cat Complaint! Scouring the internet and Reflection Reviews our cat says:

 

--Let's test this! We were in the terminal, (used the restroom because, of course), signed in, photographed, registered in...17 minutes. And yes, I know, we were in the Suite line - but the 17 kiosks servicing the "regular" passengers were, actually, faster - they just cranked it out. NOTE: The Embarkation Hall is COLD. It might be 80 outside, but it was an airy 59 inside so, if you're boarding, bring a light jacket.

 

--Continuing on, 17 minutes and 3 embarkation photographs later, we were on board! XZ tested the 'Welcome Aboard' Champagne and rates it a 3.75 out of 5 - she also tried to remove her nail polish with it and failed so our first Cat Complaint in BUSTED!

 

--We went to Michaels Club, which was, for the first time ever, BUSY! From there we ran around the ship, which is so like, but unlike, the M Class we kept running in to doors where we didn't expect them!

--The Reflection has 111 Suites (!). Wow. Luminae, also, was busy and the staff were BUSTING it out. We had a very agreeable lunch, and, by 2:40pm, we were ready to go to our room (it was ready at 1:00pm - we were just busy doing THINGS).

 

So Ends 1/2 of Embarkation! Coming up - dinner, football, and meeting the Zeniths on the cruise!

 

I will now attempt to make notes of what people have asked and respond to questions - I hope to update again this evening but XZ has booked me for like 4 activities back to back.

[David Kane]

JG51 - All over your question - will report back shortly!

[beachitnow]

Love reading your posts very enjoyable and great sense of humor thank you!

[lilghallinsf]

You're writing is wonderful. Do you write professionally?

 

 

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[Softball20]

Looking forward to hearing more about the scotch :)

[Ginnyfyr]

We shared a cab with you guys to the cruise pier from the Embassy Suites on that Halloween cruise and our cabin was just down the hall from your RS. You had the best Halloween costumes - loved the Raven! We're sailing on Reflection on February 4th so don't break anything, k? lol Will definitely be following along with your review! Have a great trip :D

[bookher]

Fellow Rhode Islander here!

Will be on board in 33!!! Days!! Same itinerary!

You are helping me get thru this next month!

Enjoy your trip!!

[H2OH!]

well done! keep up the great writing!

[chesterbear]

This is a great thread!!

 

My cat isn't too thrilled about my upcoming cruise either. I try to tell him we are taking separate vacations this year but he isn't very convinced about enjoying that [emoji14][emoji74][emoji3][emoji51][emoji33]

 

 

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[MGoBlue1995]

Love the Cat!

We just got off and handed the ship to you. I thought you might like another view of your sail away party. From a few thousand feet over Miami.

Paul

 

p.s. if your looking for scotch head to World Class Bar and ask Nik and Lazar for it. I spent a good bit of time between there and Michael's Club.

 

full size

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPTgZzlAkb-/

[Flafun888]

sorry - dupe posting - disregard

Edited January 16, 2017 by Flafun888

[Flafun888]

LOVE the cat - so beautiful. Ours are equally as disgusted the moment the luggage appears.

 

Your writing style sounds familiar - maybe I've seen you on the disney boards... where I'm embarassed to say I still hang out.

 

Love your TR...and your philosophy on tipping. Wish everyone had such a generous spirit.

 

Following along. :cool:

Edited January 16, 2017 by Flafun888

[Debik]

Great writing. Can't wait to hear more. We are on the reflection March 18th. would also love to hear more about scotch. Enjoy your vacation

[CaptCrunch]

I love your writing style!! The cat commentary is the icing on the cake.

 

We found our kitty sleeping in our partially packed suitcase the night before our last vacation. It was super sweet!

[loeb]

Great report. Can't wait to see your pictures.

 

We also have a cat and she hates it when we leave. As soon as we get the suit cases out, she will sit on the top, when we open one, she will jump inside to prevent us from packing. Finally, when the suit cases are ready to go out the door, she sits in front of the door to prevent us from leaving.

[helen haywood]

Will be on Reflection February 18. Our favorite Solstice Class ship; love the redesign of the Sunset Bar! Have a great time! We, too, have a cat that thinks her Housekeeping Staff should not go AWOL. I have to leave the house to text our pet sitter...

 

 

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[David Kane]

And we are back!

 

When last we left off, our heroes had finally managed to make it to their room, an Aqua Spa converted to a Sky Suite literally right next to Spa at the front of the ship, and were busy unpacking. Our room steward stopped by for a brief introduction but before I could even remember to write down his names the 'Voice from Above' (Copyright for that one goes to Captain Alex from the Summit) let us know it was time for Muster.

 

And herein begins perhaps the best Muster Experience one can attend. As we were at the front of the ship we were assigned to the Theatre which meant that all of the Muster Captains were, that'd right, the Cast! Never before have life vests been so dramatically donned (in total synchronization I might add - I think there might have even been a kick-turn involved). Usually the safety drill is full of mumbling people in a muggy lounge while the leads patiently keep asking for everyone to been quiet - instead, this was a mini-show. Brilliant all the way around!

 

Following this it was time for sail-away to which the Cruise Critic Roll Call Crowd had decided to meet at the Sunset Bar. XZ ran off to the Spa for some everlasting toenail polish and pedicure (last cruise her Sea-Foam green little piggies lasted for 3 months - we'll keep a tab on this year and see she can beat it) and I got lost walking to the back of the ship. Yes, seriously.

 

It seems the Reflection doesn't have an Aft stairway - just a fore and mid-ships (if that's the correct terminology - I pretty much know everything about sailing from watching Horatio Hornblower and...yeah. So if we need to commandeer a French Man o' War, I suppose I could be of some aid but aside from that I'm a bit hopeless). So I spent 15 minutes walking around deck 6, 7 and 8 in a Circle before I looked at the ship's map (again again) and found my way to the back.

 

And now is where I am a bad blogger and totally forgot to write down everyone's name but some very nice Roll Call members brought name tags and markers and we were all wearing beads and...there were like 5 of us. I suspect everyone else got lost as well and either showed up much later or are still somewhere on 4, scavenging food from left-over room service trays. But 5 is enough for an aft party and so we did! XZ arrived as well, her spa appointment having been cancelled.

 

(Ok, I am splitting this up into 3rd instead of 1/2s but, I swear to you, I will get to the end of this initial day...eventually!)

[David Kane]

Following sail way, we bounced back and forth between Michael's Club and exploring the ship which, if you're used to the M class, just seems SO massive. We tend to take stairs instead of elevators in an attempt to claw back a few of the calories the Charcuterie just put on me and by the next morning my legs were KILLING me.

 

And speaking of those calories, we got offered a 2 for 1 visit to the Lawn Club and immediately said Yes; ironically meaning we did not eat Dinner at Luminae which is absolutely one of the things we love most about Suite level - this will become a recurring theme in the next few days.

 

We elected not to get dressed pre-dinner as the Lawn Club looked to be a "hands on" experience and pizza-making and tuxedos certainly do not match. XZ threw around a pizza, we loaded up on salad and ordered Shrimp and Scallop skewers and there was absolutely no way two people could possible eat all that food - except that's exactly what happened. Time to take some more stairs, it seems. I would say that, at 2 for 1, the Lawn Club is a very good deal - the venue is unique and wonderful and the staff is overwhelmingly attentive.

 

Dinner finished we went all, ALL the way back to the room (I'll tell you, I think I passed 2 Hobbits carrying a Ring - that's how far things are away on this ship) and got dressed for the evening. XZ purchased a discounted Photo Package ($212 in total, I think? $100 off if you buy it in the first three days and another 15% off (?) for...for her being her? and we spent a good 2 hours walking around to the various picture-stations and then back to Michaels Club when who should walk in but the one and only Arno. I've been following his staff tracking posts for 3 years now, and I was great to be able to meet and chat with such an experienced cruiser and community member.

 

About this time XZ went to the Casino for a random slot contest and I settled in for some enjoy football watching at the...bar next to the Casino. Which is called...yeah, I totally forgot, because there are, what, 13 bars on this ship? Shortly thereafter XZ turns back up, somehow having won a Slot Pull and received a tiny, silver-charm thingy for her unflagging ability to rapidly press a button while screaming "Big Money, No Whammies." Or at least I hope that's what she did.

 

After this, we settled in to the Casino for a bit more ($1 Roulette anyone?) and XZ retired around 11pm. It is reported that I checked in with her at 1am and finally collapsed in a pile of bow ties and spats sometime around 3am having met a great number of interesting people who like to haunt the small hours with me.

 

So ends Day 1. What. A. Day.

 

Looking ahead to Day 2 - the Sea Day - we spend a lot of time...at Sea.

 

I spend from 10am until 3:00pm literally running from activity to activity with a hand-written schedule in my pocket, XZ takes a nap, we get to see a show and meet the cast that we've been YouTube "stalking" for the past 3 months.

 

Also, the Cat rears her furry little head and gives us another complaint to go after.

[David Kane]

Thanks to everyone for all the nice comments!

 

As best as I am able to take notes and respond I will - note that I forgot to write everyone's User Name down along with their comments so apparently I'll just ramble off into ether here - you know who are!

 

--I still have not yet solved the mystery of the pre-cruise non-alcoholic premium beverage package purchase price. We had dinner with the ship's Engineer last night and I can now tell you how fast this vessel is capable of going in both Knots and Fathoms (which I think is a thing) but the package price continues to elude me.

 

--Wow, I used to write on the Disney forums years ago, before WDW betrayed me and decided to not only make me schedule meals 180 days out but now schedule RIDES 30 days out. But here's a quick story from the old days - we immediately get into the parks one day and XZ marches over to the first kiosk and purchases a character autograph book - the kind 7 year old girls pine over, with a pink cover and Cinderella, I think, on the front of it. She then proceeds to spend the next 6 days getting all the *bartenders* to sign it because those are "her types of characters."

 

--And no, thank you for the compliment but I do not write professionally in this life. I fully intend to in my next life, however!

 

--You have a great memory! We did share that cab out. The story being referenced here is that our first cruise ever was a Halloween Cruise and we packed an entirely separate bag of costuming for the event, including an almost life-sized Raven costume that XZ hand made for other endeavors and somehow managed to pack down correctly.

[jules815]

Thank you for posting. I will be following along. Not only are we sailing on Reflection in April, but we will also be in 2109!! :D

[SandG]

Thank you for posting. I will be following along. Not only are we sailing on Reflection in April, but we will also be in 2109!! :D

Wow, you plan your cruises 92 years in advance! That's impressive. :p

(sorry I couldn't resist)

[chesterbear]

Wow, you plan your cruises 92 years in advance! That's impressive. :p

(sorry I couldn't resist)

 

 

It could be 92 years in cat years.

 

Couldn't resist that either [emoji14]

 

 

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[Flafun888]

Wow, you plan your cruises 92 years in advance! That's impressive.

 

It could be 92 years in cat years.

 

This forum REALLY needs a like button :)

[Lastdance]

Oh...this is so refreshing to read instead of the negative stuff that is always posted and opinionated from A to Z! Many thanks and keep us all entertained...we board the Ref. In April for the TA, so take could care of the ship..... and the ship will take care of you! Have you seen the lady with the little white dog onboard? Maybe that question is not appropriate due to your furry friend....

 

 

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Edited January 16, 2017 by Lastdance

[jules815]

Wow, you plan your cruises 92 years in advance! That's impressive. :p

(sorry I couldn't resist)

 

Too funny! :D

 

Seriously though...how exciting they're sailing in the same cabin as we will be?! I would love to see pictures. With it being so close to the spa, is the hallway busy? How's the water pressure in the shower? Lots of motion in that location?